The Red Devils escaped the Stadium of Light with a hard-fought draw after surviving heavy pressure and a late woodwork rattle from a resilient, high-flying Sunderland side.
Manchester United were held to a goalless draw against Sunderland, with the Red Devils being on the back foot for most of the game and seeing their only shot on target in the 93rd minute where Matheus Cunha had a golden opportunity, which he struck straight at Dutch keeper Robin Roefs.
Sunderland have impressed since coming into the Premier League this season with the side boasting a very impressive home record, only losing four times and conceding 19, three less than United.
If United were able to get all three points today it would have guaranteed them a third position in the league, what would have been their best in the last three years, but the Red Devils can be be quite happy that they escaped with just a point, Noah Sadiki tested Senne Lammens in the first half and Lutsharel Geertruida struck the post in the second with the Black Cats having the better chances of the two teams.
Carrick praised his side for getting a 'decent point'.
Michael Carrick, speaking to Sky Sports, seemed content with the performance where did give credit to Sunderland and acknowledged their home form when Carrick said, "It's a tough place to come. They've had a good record here all season. We'll take the point, a clean sheet is always good to get".
Carrick also spoke about his side form in front of goal with this game being the first that his side hasn't been able to score in with Bruno Fernandes, Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo really struggling to create clear cut opportunities.
"We've scored a lot of goals this season, its just one of those games. A decent enough point and we nearly won it at the end" said Carrick.
United's attacking problems versus Sunderland
It was a frustrating performance from a United perspective with the Red Devils not putting their foot on the gas as much as fans would have liked and ultimately looked quite content with a point against what was a out of form Sunderland side.
United were very disappointing attacking wise and it felt like Zirkzee could get no change from Sunderland centre half Omar Alderete, who had a fine game and Amad looked fairly one-dimensional and predictable trying to cut inside constantly to no avail.
The brightest spark for Man United when they were able to get forward would have to be Matheus Cunha, he showed bright footwork and had his big chance well saved, however it was incredibly frustrating to see the Brazilian get booked for diving right at the end of the game when it felt like United had a real chance of stealing all the points at the death.